About Me

Sunday, January 18, 2009

So, here are some boring knitting details. Non-knitters can skip to the end of the entry :-).

I'm almost done with Amused--just one sleeve to go! I still love the pattern, although I discovered a problem with the collar as written in the pattern, and it caused me considerable agita for a while there. I fixed it, though, and am rather proud of myself: this is my first real cable project, so having to fix a problem with the cable pattern was not easy, in particular because this is a two-sided cable (ie, it needs to look good from both sides of the fabric). It involved a fair bit of frogging, which didn't make the yarn very happy, but it was worth it.

I still love the yarn, which is really lovely deep purple (the pics are not really accurate). I am looking forward to being able to wear this one--when I try it on (the advantage of a top-down construction), it looks really nice. I'm pretty happy about this, too, because to be honest, I don't wear a lot of my handknits, because I usually make something where I love the pattern, but the finished project is a little too wild or uncomfortable or sleeveless for me to wear often. I think this one is a winner, though.

Knitting content over now; feel free to turn up the volume :-).

So, I haven't mentioned it on the blog, but my sweetie has landed a new job. He managed this feat just two weeks after he received his notice at WaMu, before Christmas. It was a huge load off our minds, let me tell you! We were especially amused by my parents' reaction: you see, I've only known my sweetie for three years, and my dad only met him after we got engaged (my mom had met him a few months prior, when she came to NY for a visit), so they don't know him well. My parents *like* him, but I think they were not sure of the content of his character, as they say, and so when they heard he had been laid off from WaMu, after he had had me quit my job, uproot my life, and move all the way across the country for him, they were worried. The lousy economy did not help--it would be tough for anyone to find a job right now.

Not that they said any of this to us, mind you: they're not *that* tactless! But in their joyful reaction to the news he has found a new job, it became apparent. By finding a job so fast, in the middle of the holiday season, before the end of his notice at WaMu, even, so that he did not have a single day unemployed, he has proven himself to be a Worthy Provider for their daughter. They were extremely impressed. He is clearly the Best Son-in-Law ever. My dad emailed, "Now M----- can stay home and have babies."

Sunday, January 04, 2009

This is the Cobblestone pullover I started knitting for my sweetie last year. I had to stop because of my shoulder injury, but picked it up again in time for this Christmas. Actually, looking back at that post, I am very proud to say that I completed all three of those projects :-).

I am knitting this out of some Noro Cash Iroha I've had lying about for a couple of years, waiting for the perfect project. I am loving it, frankly. The gauge is not what's called for in the pattern, so I am making a larger size, and I've made some modifications, but I'm staying pretty true to the pattern. I love the yarn, and so far I love the pattern. It's my second top-down sweater (well, third, if you count a WIP I haven't finished), and I do like the top-down construction. No seaming! I hate seaming. It also used a crochet provisional cast-on, which was so easy it may become my favorite provisional cast-on. We'll see what I think once I unravel the crochet chain and pick up the stitches.

The cable border on the placket is really appealing to me, which is kind of interesting: I haven't much liked doing cables in the past. But this is a pretty easy cable, and it's so pretty in the Cash Iroha I'm totally charmed. Cash Iroha is probably not the best yarn for doing cables--the thick-and-thin quality of the yarn is kind of at odds with even, regular cables. But since it's not an all-over cable, and the yarn has such a pretty glow from the silk content, I'm not caring. Can't wait to get this done so I can wear it!